Mists on the Mountains

Chapter 10: Dusty Bonewalkers

Chapter 10

Dusty Bonewalkers

"In ancient days, when dragons ruled Tamriel, many of Skyrim's population worshipped them as gods. Gods need priests to control their followers and the dragons were no exception, granting awesome powers to select individuals called Dragon Priests. These powerful sorcerer-priests were buried in massive Barrows, along with their legions of followers. These followers died within the tombs and rose again as 'draugr,' forever tainted with unlife. The draugr still wander their Barrows forever, doomed to a lonely existence of eternal service. In death they serve the Dragon Priests and await the return of their dragon masters. Considering the lack of living dragons, it seems the only danger the draugr pose is to unwary bandits and would-be-plunderers."- A Local's Guide to Skyrim: Fourth Revised Edition, written by Yander Bearclaw and published 2E 234. Quotation from the current version, published 4E 187.

The giant frostbite spider made the first move.

After spitting poison at Hammel, it scuttled forward with a vicious hiss. Throwing himself aside, Hammel felt the glob fly past and splatter harmlessly against the far wall. His bow was wrenched from his hand by the force of the dive, falling away and sliding into a far corner.

Even as Hammel pulled a sword free, Clob was springing into action. He launched three fireballs at the spider with speed and precision. While the monster managed to skitter out of the way of the first two, the third struck it directly in the thorax. The scent of burning hair filled the air as the giant spider began sizzling, but the brutal wound only seemed to anger it.

Ria dashed at it, the look on her face halfway between terror and anger, screaming her war cry shrilly. Lashing out with two front legs, the spider struck Ria. She managed to block the attack with her shield but still flew backwards halfway across the chamber from the force of the blow.

Clob narrowly dodged the flying Ria but didn't lose his concentration. He sent another two fireballs after the spider, both struck home but did little more than singe the carapace.

Both swords held firmly, Hammel took the opportunity to attack. Dashing forward, he struck out with both, aiming at the leg closest to him. He'd been a soldier long enough to know that striking the beast on its armoured forelimbs was pointless. The sensitive joints, on the other hand, would be vulnerable.

Slashing at the visible joints, Hammel was rewarded with a spray of stinking black ichor and a squeal of pain. With its good back leg, the spider struck him in the face. Hammel tasted blood as his head snapped back, skull ringing. The spider had struck him with the force of a cart horse and the only thing stopping him from flying across the chamber like poor Ria was the angle of the blow.

Spitting blood, Hammel struck the wounded joint again, determined to sever it. Ria had clambered back to her feet, repeatedly jabbing her sword at the spider's midsection with varying degrees of success.

Even as the spider lashed out at him, it spat more venom at Clob, determined to stop the devastating spells. Clob blocked the poison with a ward, reflecting it harmlessly away. Switching spells, he launched a lightning bolt with incredible precision. The lightning blasted the spider across its face, scarring it and exploding one of its eyes in a shower of dark gore.

The spider rushed forward snarling in agony, knocking Ria and Hammel to the ground, attempted to reach the source of its pain. Biting ferociously, the spider sunk its mandibles deep into Clob's shoulder, trapping him. The mage roared in agony and unleashed a torrent of flame directly into the creature's face. He could only cast the spell with one hand as his other arm was pinned to his side by the spider's powerful jaws.